HeyJaredThe Jukebox
The secret history of how Cleveland's jukebox operators gave birth to rock and roll and spun America out of control
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 5
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- Sep 13, 2026
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- Jul 4, 2026
Latest issues
Fishing with St. Elmo’s Fire’s Real-Life Man in Motion (opens the original)
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If you were around in the 1980s, when you heard John Parr’s “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” playing on a jukebox—and heard the line “All I need is a pair of wheels”—you may have pictured Demi Moore driving around Georgetown in that black Jeep with the St. Elmo gang.<a class="image-link image2" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RjEL!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc33d4685-c031-47ef-bf17-8695c66794fe_348
From Akron and Beyond, a Podcast, and Why in this Age of A.I., Jukeboxes Still Matter (opens the original)
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From Akron and Beyond may sound like a sci-fi movie shot in the former rubber capital of the world, but it’s the name of a radio show I was on, hosted by Nick Nicholis, a member of The Bizarros, and Bob Ethington from Unit 5. Okay, that sounds even more like an outer-space invasion — but both were bands in Akron’s independent music scene in the late 1970s/early 1980s when there was talk that Akron, which produced DEVO who David Bowie called “the band of the future,”
Cleveland’s Oldest Bar, A Jukebox, and America at Its Best (opens the original)
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<img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="819" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7Lb0!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9a9fe81f-1059-4b89-80fa-c7663ac2cd7f_2048x1152.j
The Jukebox Experience: Because Every Jukebox Tells a Story (opens the original)
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I usually publish a new Jukebox Substack on Sundays, but we're deep in editing the first episodes of our Jukebox Chronicles podcast. So instead I'm sharing some photos courtesy of Tom "Grover" Biery and his son Levi. I first met Grover and his wife Jacqui in a baby group when we were living in L.A. and he was an executive at Warner Music.By coincidence or fate, Jacqui grew up in Cleveland as best friends with Harriet, who would marry my cousin Peter Kusner. Peter came along after my Grandpa Jack
America's 250th Special: A Red, White and Blue Tribute to How the Jukebox Democratized Music (opens the original)
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<img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="2850" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ENOI!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42de7763-c6f9-4603-a3c7-d4d1f338ad72_2972x2850.
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